The First Appellate District granted a petition for writ of habeas corpus. The court held that the Governor’s decision rescinding an inmate’s parole date based on purported criminal activity while incarcerated and a failure to appreciate the gravity and consequences of prior substance abuse was not only unsupported by the record, but ignored and distorted it.
In 1984, Joseph Calderon and two friends, after spending an evening drinking, attempted to rob a store. An gunfight ensued between two of the would-be robbers and the store’s security guard. All three suffered bullet wounds. The security guard died. Calderon pleaded guilty to second degree murder with use of a firearm. He was sentenced to state prison for the indeterminate term of 18 years to life. He became eligible for parole in 2005 and was denied parole.
